Episode Overview

Podcast: Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast
Episode: #330 – Filling Your Leadership Pipeline
Date: February 6, 2025
Host: Perry Holley (A), Chris Goede (B)
Theme:
This episode tackles one of the most pressing concerns for organizations and individual leaders: how to proactively fill your leadership pipeline by developing emerging leaders from within. Perry and Chris break down why this is every leader's responsibility—not just HR's—and offer practical, actionable strategies to identify potential, develop influence, and create a leadership-rich environment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Urgency and Challenge of Developing Leaders

• Perry and Chris open the episode highlighting how frequently they hear from clients worried about their succession pipeline.
  • Succession planning and pipeline-building are not just HR concerns, but essential leadership functions.
  • Contemporary challenges include “conscious unbossing,” quiet quitting, and generational reluctance toward leadership roles.
  • [01:32] Chris: "As leaders, we need to be thinking about who is coming up behind us—and it’s part of our role to develop leaders."

Leadership is Developed, Not Discovered

• Intentionality is needed—leadership potential alone is not enough.
  • [02:34] Perry: "Leadership is more developed than discovered and that you're going to have to take some intentionality in that."
  • Many leaders defer development responsibility to L&D departments, which is a missed opportunity.
  • At the core of the Maxwell Leadership philosophy: growing leaders (especially at Level 4 and above in the 5 Levels framework) is essential.

The Leader’s Mindset: Seeing Potential in People

• Belief in the potential of everyone is step one.
  • [04:32] Perry: "If you don't have a belief system that people have potential, people have the ability to grow and learn, you're going to have a hard time actually developing other people."
  • Development is about nurturing influence in everyone, not just those with title or managerial ambitions.
  • [05:46] Chris: "See the potential, not the current position... I want to think about developing the individual and see the potential, not just where they sit now."

Classic Maxwell Principles for Cultivating Emerging Leaders

• John Maxwell’s Beliefs:
  • Place a “10” on everyone’s head—see people as full of potential.
  • [06:55] Chris (on Maxwell’s hiring philosophy): "He has a saying where he puts a 10 on people's heads at all times. And I'm grateful for it because when I was 23, I did not have a 10 in my leadership development... but he put a 10 on my head."
  • "Look for gold, not dirt." Seek out strengths, not shortcomings.

Practical Process: Recognizing Leadership Qualities

• Perry and Chris suggest using a simple spreadsheet to track and observe potential in team members. Key observable traits:
  • Make things happen; see and seize opportunities
  • Influence opinions and actions of others (even without title)
  • Add value and lighten the load for others
  • Attract other “winners” and foster collaboration
  • Naturally equip and teach others
  • Share discretionary ideas and energy for the organization
  • Exhibit a consistently positive attitude (EQ, self-awareness)
  • Live up to commitments, deliver results
  • Show loyalty and align with organizational values
  • [08:40] Perry: "I'm looking for people that make things happen around here... people who see and seize opportunity..."

Leadership Is Caught, Not Just Taught

• Modeling matters.
  • [13:11] Chris: "People do what people see."
  • Leaders should reflect on their own demonstration of desired leadership qualities—use self-assessment before evaluating others.
  • [14:30] Perry: "It's a great question for all of us... Am I also exhibiting any of these traits?"

The “Three E’s” of Leader Development

1. Environment:
   • Build a culture of continuous self-development.
   • [15:37] Perry: "We expect each other to be developing ourselves. It's a culture of continuous improvement."
2. Equipping:
   • Make time and invest in team members’ growth—don't fear developing people who may move on.
   • [16:35] Chris: "Sometimes we'll say, well, the alternative is a whole lot worse, which is you don't develop them and they stay."
3. Exposure:
   • Give emerging leaders experiences: shadowing, meetings, projects, feedback.
   • Leverage digital learning (podcasts, YouTube, books).
   • [17:40] Perry: "There's no excuse. You can do it all electronically and get people into that environment and that equipping and that exposure."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chris ([05:46]): “See the potential, not the current position that they’re sitting in.”
• Perry ([02:34]): “Leadership is more developed than discovered and that you're going to have to take some intentionality in that.”
• Chris ([06:55]): “John has the ultimate belief in people… he has a saying where he puts a 10 on people’s heads at all times.”
• Perry ([08:40]): “I hear John in his teaching around finding your eagles and who are the ones that can soar with you… They make things happen. They see and seize opportunity.”
• Chris ([13:11]): “People do what people see.”
• Perry ([14:30]): “While I am the leader, looking at my team to develop the next generation of leader, am I also looking up to my boss? Is my boss willing to develop me and am I exhibiting any of these traits?”
• Chris ([16:35]): “I don't want to invest in and develop my people because I'm going to lose them. The alternative is a whole lot worse, which is you don't do anything, you don't develop them and they stay on your team.”
• Perry ([17:40]): “There's no excuse. No excuse. You can't say, I don't have money, I don't have time. They're less than 20 minutes. They are a podcast. YouTube is completely free.”

Important Timestamps for Segments

• 00:44 – 02:34: Introduction and why the leadership pipeline matters now more than ever
• 03:30 – 05:46: The leader’s responsibility and the Maxwell 5 Levels context
• 05:46 – 08:40: See potential, not just position; “put a 10 on people’s heads”
• 08:40 – 11:07: Practical tips for identifying future leaders
• 11:07 – 13:08: Additional characteristics to watch for in high-potentials
• 13:09 – 17:40: Reflection: Am I modeling leadership? The “Three E’s”
• 17:40 – 19:45: Action steps and the importance of intentionality in leader development

Actionable Takeaways

• Adopt a Gold-Miner Mentality: Constantly look for the best in people and focus on bringing out potential rather than exposing flaws.
• Use a Tracking Tool: Create a spreadsheet of key leadership traits and evaluate both yourself and your team consistently.
• Focus on the Three E’s: Foster an environment demanding growth, equip deliberately, and give exposure through real-world experiences.
• Self-Check Before Assessing Others: Ensure you demonstrate the qualities you want to see in your pipeline.
• Stay Intentional: Your pipeline grows when you deliberately invest your time, attention, and belief in others.

Closing

The conversation closes with a challenge: Before creating a spreadsheet of potential leaders, list yourself first—see how you measure up against the criteria. Leadership development should be deliberate, and it starts with evaluating and modeling the behaviors you want to multiply.

[19:25] Chris: “Put your name up there first. One of the rows has to be you.”

For more resources and to connect with Chris and Perry:
Visit maxwellleadership.com/podcast

This summary covers all substantive content from the episode and omits sponsor messages and calls to action unrelated to the episode's theme.